Shou
Shou Tan (CHN: 唐守 Táng Shōu, JPN: タン ショウ Tan Shō) is a Street Fighter fan character who exists in a universe where all of Capcom's original works exist in one timeline. He is a representative of America. Biography Appearance Shou is a young man of Chinese descent. He has an athletic physique and a slight tan to his skin. His hair is jet black and his eyes are brown. In fighting tournaments, Shou usually wears a faded karate gi with a blue tint to it, a green headband, and blue sparring gloves. He also wears black kung fu shoes, reminiscent of the shoes that Ryu wore in the original Street Fighter. He can sometimes be seen wearing Chinese kung fu outfits in honor of his mother and grandfather. Otherwise he typically wears mid 2000s Japanese men's fashion. One notable alternate outfit consists of a black and white kung fu shirt with a blue hakama, combining his Chinese heritage with his Japanese nationality. Personality Shou is a passionate martial artist, though he can switch between determined and easygoing whenever the situation calls for it. Fighting Style Shou's fighting style is a mix of various styles, though primarily based on karate and qigong. His initial style is based on his mother's kenpo style, which is near-identical to Chun-Li's kung fu style. The simplest way to describe Shou's fighting style is a mix of Sakura, Ken, and Chun-Li, with some nuances of Dan. Story Shou was born to a Chinese family who immigrated to Japan before his birth and opened a Chinese restaurant called Yihua (CHN: 義花 Yìhuā JPN: イーファ Iifa). He learned wushu and qigong from his mother since childhood, while later picking up Karate at a local dojo in his Japanese hometown. During one summer, his family briefly returned to China, where he found that his grandfather was a qigong master. His grandfather expanded his qigong skills, allowing him to master the art of emanating a blast of ki from his hands. He would spend the first 13 years of his life going to one of Japan's American schools, transferring to a Japanese high school later on. Street Fighter Alpha After 13 years at one of Japan's American-style schools, Shou started going to Japanese high school. He attended the same school as Sakura Kasugano, a girl of the same age who he would befriend. Sakura would tell Shou about the legendary fighter Ryu. Inspired to better himself, and wanting more of Sakura's attention after developing feelings for her, he began to study Ryu's style, and would spend hours doing nothing but analyzing video footage of Ryu's fights. The Kikōken technique that his mother and grandfather taught him became a Hadōken. He developed his own Shoryuken-type technique while inspired by both Ryu and Sagat, another idol of his. This technique, to complement Ryu's "Rising Dragon Punch" and Sagat's "Tiger Uppercut" is called the "Kirin Upper". He would also pursue Ryu's best friend, the American Karate Champion Ken Masters, who, while not taking him as a formal student, would give him some pointers after a friendly sparring match. Shou would eventually get over his unrequited love for Sakura, and have some brief relationships with other girls, though he sometimes lamented that none of them were "as hot" as her. Shou would also take some karate lessons under Dan Hibiki, who would start a dojo after defeating Sagat. During the dojo's very brief run of success, Shou would be one of Dan's students, quickly dropping out after other students started leaving. However, despite having little respect for Hibiki-sensei as a martial artist, he still respected him as a person due to his positive attitude and humor, and continued to think of him as a friend. He still found some of Dan's Saikyo Karate techniques useful, and kept them in his repertoire. When Shou was 20, he moved to Metro City in America to start a life on his own, by starting an American branch of Yihua. Ever since, he fought against corrupt gangs such as Mad Gear, and developed feelings for the police officer Lucia Morgan. Street Fighter IV Having lived in Metro City for years, Shou became bored of fighting the same gangsters over and over again. After hearing of the 4th World Warrior tournament, Shou began wandering the world like his former idol, Ryu. At some point, he would reunite with his friends Dan Hibiki and Sakura Kasugano, and have friendly sparring matches with them and their friend Jimmy, who he would quickly warm up to due to his innocent nature. He would also regain his respect for Dan as a martial artist, seeing vast improvements from his time in the previous tournaments. It was also said that he met, befriended, and developed feelings for Elena, whose entire purpose was to make friends in the tournament. Though his love seemed unrequited, Shou still very much valued Elena's friendship, and the two would stay in touch. Street Fighter x Tekken While Hasan and Shou took a trip to Japan together, they learned of Pandora's Box, and set out to find it. They encountered the fighters Gaku Kazemaru and Mirai Satomi. Street Fighter V Ever since Ken Masters started up his online karate program, Shou had been using them as a supplement to his usual training regime, resulting in a style that greatly resembled Ken's own during his earlier days. Hearing about the 5th World Warrior Tournament from his old friend Elena, Shou would enter again to improve his training. Though Ryu was formerly his idol, he now wanted to defeat him. He also secretly wanted to meet girls during the tournament. Techniques Special Moves Kikoken '(気功拳 ''Kikōken): A technique taught to Shou by his mother, and refined by his grandfather. Their style is identical to Chun-Li's style, as their family has connections to Chun-Li's master. Shou no longer uses this technique. 'Spinning Bird Kick '(スピニング・バード・キック Supiningu Bādo Kikku): A technique taught by Shou's grandfather when he was young. 'Hadoken '(波動拳 Hadōken): After learning of the legendary warrior Ryu, Shou changed the way he fired ki blasts, opting for a stance identical to Ryu's Hadoken stance. It does not use the dark energy associated with Ansatsuken. 'Kirin Upper '(麒麟 アッパー Kirin Appā): A technique identical to the Shoryuken that Shou developed himself, named after the mythical Kirin instead of the dragon. '''Kirin Fire (麒麟 ファイヤー Kirin Faiyā): A variation of the Kirin Upper in which Shou's fist is covered in flames. Unlike the standard Kirin Upper, this variation often ends with an additional mid-air punch to the ground. The second punch is not covered in flames. Super Combos Shinku Hadoken (真空波動拳 Shinkū Hadōken): Shou's favorite super move. After a friendly sparring match with Sakura, he took this move for himself. Kikosho (気功掌 Kikōshō): A technique learned from Shou's grandfather. Though fired from a Hadoken stance, it is functionally identical to Chunli's own technique. Spinning Bird Cyclone (スピンイング・バード・サイクロン Supiningu Bādo Saikuron): A variation of the Spinning Bird Kick, which functions like the Shinkuu Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku, creating a vacuum effect that draws the opponent towards him while he stays stationary. Great Kirin Upper '(グレート 麒麟 アッパー ''Great Kirin Appā): A super move based on the Shin Shoryuken, though drawing from Shou's Kirin Upper technique. '''Killing Upper (キリング・アッパー Kiringu Appā): A variation of the Kirin Upper enhanced by the Satsui no Hado, which covers Shou's fist in dark ki, jumps higher, and digs into the opponent's flesh while uppercutting. The name is a pun on Kirin Upper. Ultra Combos Shakunetsu Hadosho (灼熱波動掌 Shakunetsu Hadōshō): A technique of Shou's own creation. A close quarters attack in which Shou throws his hands in front of him as if firing a Hadoken, but creates a large stationary spinning ball similar to a Kikosho. The energy ball slowly accumulates fire, causing severe damage to the opponent in multiple hits. Kirin Spiral (麒麟スパイラル Kirin Supairaru): An extension of the Kirin Upper, which resembles the Shinryuken. It creates a vacuum effect which draws the opponent closer, allowing for more hits. Character Relationships Sagat - His idol since childhood. Sakura Kasugano - His friend and former classmate, who he had a crush on throughout high school, and inspired him to look up to Ryu. Hasan - His friend and rival who met him during a visit to Japan. Ryu - A man who Shou idolized once thanks to Sakura. Ken Masters - Shou briefly trained with him, though he was not accepted as a formal student. Studies his online karate program. Dan Hibiki - Shou was one of Dan's initial students before his dojo began to fail. He would still respect him as a friend, though not much as a martial artist until they cross paths again during Street Fighter IV. Lucia Morgan - After moving to Metro City, Shou would meet and become acquainted with local police officer Lucia Morgan, who he would develop a short-lived crush on. Blanka - Shou met Blanka while reuniting with Sakura and Dan. He would warm up to him due to his innocent nature. Elena - The two crossed paths during the World Warrior tournament and became friends as per Elena's mission. He would fall in love with her, though it would seem unrequited. However, he would still value Elena's friendship and stay in touch with her. Trivia * The creator of this character created him in 2007, but recently decided to flesh him out. He was originally conceived as a Japanese character and an Ansatsuken student, but later made ethnic Chinese to diversify his OCs, most of whom are originally Japanese, though he is still conceived as being raised in Japan. His fighting style is also changed to be a mix of various karate styles and Chinese qigong techniques. He was also conceived as a love interest for Sakura, though this was changed to an unrequited crush that eventually faded away, but shaped his current fighting style. ** Shou's original incarnation had traits that the creator feel are fitting of a Gary Stu, or even just outright immature. Most character flaws that Shou exhibits in his current incarnation are based on deconstructions of these traits. For example, he was originally conceived as an eccentric ladies' man, but that has now been changed into him being desperate and falling in love too easily with almost no success. To balance it out, the canon characters for whom he has developed feelings are generally on good terms with him. * His name is a pun on "Tang Shou Dao", an older Chinese name for Karate. * In the distant future, at least one of his descendants will be a Strider. * His name is written as "Shou Tan" in English as opposed to "Shou Tang", because due to being a Japanese resident his whole life, he writes his family name using the Japanese rendition.